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Saturday, May 8, 2010

Bare Burger

A good burger is hard to find. The easiest to get, obviously, are fast food burgers but they are, well, gross. Diners have good burgers but they're really hit or miss in terms of tastiness. On the other end of the burger spectrum are those super-expensive burgers made from exotics meats that are served on silvers platter by white-gloved waiters in fancy restaurants.

Isn't there a place where you can get a superior burger at a reasonable price in this town?

Yes! In Astoria, Queens, a block or so down from the 30th Avenue N/W subway stop, is a little place that makes awesome burgers with amazing fries. It's called Bare Burger, an organic joint, and these are easily some of the best burgers I've had in NYC in a long, long time.

Bar Burger lets you design your burger from top to bottom. First, you can choose your own meat: Piedmontese beef, turkey, grilled chicken, veggie, Portabella mushroom, bison, ostrich, elk or lamb. Next, choose your bun: brioche, 7 grain or wrap or iceberg lettuce. Then you can select a type of burger from their wonderful menu and have it cooked to your preference.

My wife ordered a veggie burger in a brioche bun which she loved and I ordered a bacon cheeseburger with elk meat that was unbelievable good. Best of all: the fries. These are fresh cut served with the skin still on (my favorite) and they serve the fries with three different dipping sauces: spicy chipotle mayor, curry ketchup and a special sauce. These fries are so amazing you have to hold yourself back from gobbling them up.

Our very friendly waitress even told us "I work here because of the fries."

And talking about the service, it's excellent. We didn't wait long for our food and they were really on top of everything. We went there on a Saturday night and had to wait about fifteen minutes for a table (it's not huge) so on a regular weeknight you'll have no problem getting a table.

The restaurant has a friendly, relaxed decor with brick walls. If the weather's good, sitting outside is very nice (it's not too near the street). So, if you want a really good, affordable burger and can make a short trip out to Astoria, check out Bare Burger.